Stay
by Ellipsis the Great
Summary: Forever and ever is a beautifully long time. A Riku character study that is eventually Soriku and somewhat drabblie-ish.


_**Stay**_

_A One-Shot by Ellipsis the Great_

_**Summary: **__Forever and ever is a beautifully long time. A Riku character study that is eventually Soriku and somewhat drabble-ish._

_**DISCLAIMER:**__ Kingdom Hearts and everything affiliated with it belongs to SquareEnix and Disney. All I own is the plot…_

_**Rated:**__ K+._

Riku is four years old, and he hates the new preschool the moment he sets eyes on it.

He's already been to five preschools before this one, so he knows a good one what he sees it—and he knows a bad one, too.

This one's a bad one.

It isn't even in its own building. It's part of the crappy little strip mall on Destiny Islands, Riku's new 'home.' He's already had five homes, too, although he doesn't remember most of them very well because he's usually at a preschool.

"Okay, Riku, it's time to meet your new nanny." His mother says, opening the door for him.

He nods and goes inside, wondering if he should pitch a fit or just give her a cold shoulder. It won't matter either way, of course—his mother doesn't really care what he does, as long as he's out of her way, so she'll just leave if he starts crying and she probably won't notice at all if he gives her a cold shoulder. It will make him feel a little better, though.

When he sees how many kids are in this dinky little preschool, he decides on the cold shoulder. He's got his pride, even if he doesn't have much of anything else, and there are far too many witnesses here for him to risk a crying fit.

"Hello, Riku." A plump older woman with a weird accent says, crouching in front of him. "My name is Mrs. Potts. I'm going to be taking care of you today. Is that alright?"

He considers not answering, but eventually shrugs when his mother nudges him.

"I have work, but I'll come by to pick him up at five or six." His mother says. Then she pats Riku on the head, turns and leaves with an absentminded 'thank you.'

Mrs. Potts frowns a little, but doesn't comment. Instead, she smiles widely at him. "We're just letting you kids run around and play, for now," The frumpy matriarch says. "So why don't you go see if you can make some friends, hm?"

Another shrug, this one causing Mrs. Potts' smile to become a little sad for some reason. But she straightens, gently pushes him towards the play area, and then rushes off to break up a fight that has broken out off to one side.

Riku lets his eyes sweep over the play area. The children here are too happy, he decides. They probably have parents who care, too. Maybe even siblings. And they have probably already decided not to try to befriend him.

That's what usually happens at preschool. No matter what he does, the other kids almost immediately peg him as an arrogant meanie-head, and won't associate with him.

So he does what he always does—saunters off to a corner, sits down with his knees touching his chest, wraps his arms around his legs and rests his chin on his knees. And watches. Normal kids—the ones who don't have jerks for parents—are fun to watch.

As he watches, he blocks out all of the noise that fills the preschool. He fills the silence with his own words—putting words into the other kids mouths. Then, he lets the scenery melt into another scene entirely. Soon, the funnily-dressed blonde and his orange-haired friend are knights, defending the brunette damsel in distress from evil. Riku isn't sure yet what the evil is, but he thinks it has something to do with the darkness that is suddenly taking up one corner of the room, surrounding a barely-there door that tempts Riku's fingers.

"Alright, everyone, it's naptime!" A voice cuts through his imaginings. It belongs to a gangly pre-teen who looks like Mrs. Potts, but thin and male.

The other children groan, but Riku just stays where he is, waiting to see this place's policy for naptime. He doesn't want to look like an idiot.

"No whining, guys!" The pre-teen says, hands on his hips.

The children are suddenly excited again as Mrs. Potts opens up a chest full of blankets, which happens to be near where Riku is sitting.

"Come pick out a blanket—no fighting!" Mrs. Potts says. She pulled out one of the blankets—it has the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on it—and offers it to Riku. "Here you are, dear. You can set it out wherever you like."

"Aww!" A voice that is far too close to him says. He turns, startled, to find himself face-to-face with a boy whose walnut brown hair is so spiky that it will most certainly take someone's eye out soon, and eyes so blue they would make a cloudless sky seem gray. The boy is pouting. "I wanted the Ninja Turtle blanket, today!"

Riku looks down at the blanket in his hands, then back up to the boy. With a shrug, he holds it out. "You can have it if you want."

Somehow, the boy's eyes get even bluer than they were before. "Really?"

"S-sure." Riku says. He has always thought that angels are girls—the dresses, the harps, the wings; surely boys were devils—but this boy is making him reconsider. Who knew someone so small (and the other boy _is_ quite small, Riku realizes) could cast such a bright light over a room?

"You sure you don't mind?" The boy asks.

Riku nods.

"Gee, thanks!" The boy says, throwing tiny arms around Riku's waist in a hasty hug.

Riku freezes—he has never been so close to another person before. The contact brings a blush to his cheeks, and sends a rush of warmth throughout his entire body.

"You're a really swell guy!" The boy continues, completely unperturbed by Riku's sudden lack of movement. "Say! What's your name? I ain't ever seen you here before!"

"R-Riku. I just moved here." Riku explains.

"Oh!" The boy says, then holds out his hand. "I'm Sora! Nice ta meetcha, Riku!"

Riku takes the hand in his. "You, too, Sora." This contact—a handshake—is something he's used to…well, except that Sora is pumping his arm up and down like he thinks Riku will start spouting water. For some reason, though, this doesn't bother Riku all that much. Instead, it makes him smile.

Sora's smiles, Riku finds, are very contagious.

(ASCATTEREDDREAMTHAT'SLIKEAFAROFFPAGEBREAK)

Although Riku isn't sure that becoming friends with Sora is a good idea, he soon comes to the conclusion that he really doesn't have any say in the matter—Sora has decided that they are going to be friends, so that's what they are. Best friends, even.

Which is why he's happy when one night at dinner his father announces that his company has decided to station him at Destiny Islands permanently.

He's so happy, in fact, that he jumps up onto his seat and lets out a whoop, causing his parents to scold him terribly for a few minutes for bad manners. That's all they ever do: scold him.

It doesn't matter, though. Nothing matters anymore except that he'll get to stay with Sora forever and ever. Because that's what 'permanently' means, Riku knows: forever and ever.

And forever and ever is a beautifully long time.

Naturally, the day after Father's announcement is a day in which Riku is not sent to preschool (Sunday). Instead, he spends the day with his parents.

Well, sort of. Mostly, his parents just ignore him and go about their business; but it is their day off of work, so they see no point in paying for daycare.

It's a terribly long Sunday, Riku thinks. And then he wonders what Sora is doing right then. It's probably something wonderfully exciting—everything Sora does seems to be wonderfully exciting—and Riku wishes he could be there (wherever 'there' was) doing it, too.

Luckily, Sunday does eventually come to an end, and Monday means business as usual. Just as with every other day when he comes to preschool, the first thing that happens is that Sora tackles him to the ground in a big hug and babbles on and on about how much he missed Riku.

Today, the babbling continues for longer than usual. It always does, on Mondays. Sora doesn't come to preschool at all on the weekends, which means it has been _two whole days_ since they last saw each other! And two days, Sora says, is an awfully long time to go without seeing your very bestest friend.

Riku agrees. Then he tells Sora the good news. The smile that comes to Sora's face makes Riku's heart do something funny, and with a sudden clarity that a four-year-old can hardly understand, Riku realizes that he loves this little ball of energy.

Of course, he tells Sora of this realization immediately—best friends don't keep secrets, Sora has told him—and Sora's smile gets _even wider_ as he returns the sentiment.

Riku is the happiest he's been in a long time.

(AFAROFFPAGEBREAKTHAT'SLIKEASCATTEREDDREAM)

Two years later, Riku finds himself sadder than he's been in absolute ages.

Home hasn't changed any, except that Riku now has a little brother whose name is Luneth. Luneth, for ill or good, idolizes his big brother, giving Riku a familial feeling that he's never had before, and he is fiercely protective of Luneth in return. He also dotes on Luneth endlessly, since their parents are even less mindful of the new baby's existence than they are of Riku's.

But that isn't why he's sad.

He's sad because someone has shown up who seems to be competing for his spot in Sora's heart.

And it isn't that Riku _dislikes_ Kairi, per se. She's a nice girl, as far as girls go, and doesn't even seem to have any cooties—she's too boyish for those—but Sora really, _really_ seems to like her.

It makes Riku's heart hurt to watch them.

He tries to say something to Sora, but Sora is oblivious at the best of times and stubborn at the worst. So he stops trying to say anything, and instead tries to treat Kairi the same as Sora treats her, to keep Sora happy.

Somehow, though, the three of them manage to be just as close to each other as Sora and Riku were when it was just the two of them, so Riku doesn't feel nearly as lonely as he was afraid he might. Instead, as they grow older Riku begins to tease them about liking each other, and falls into easy competitions with Sora over Kairi's heart and honor.

Not that he's altogether interested in either of those, but it's a good excuse to roll around in the dirt with Sora, thus taking the other boy's attention away from the giggly redhead.

Then, one day, he suggests that the winner of their next competition—a race—gets a paopu fruit.

Sora wins.

Riku's heart sputters a little, but he doesn't show the pain he's in. He just gives the paopu to Sora, along with some teasing words about how Sora should share it with Kairi. He even hints that that's what he would have done with it if he had won.

He isn't sure why he suggests that—he doesn't really want to be tied to her, and he _definitely_ doesn't want _Sora_ to be tied to her. He reckons it's to see how serious Sora is about liking her.

Because Sora definitely likes her. He might even _love_ her, and the thought hurts Riku more than the proud teen cares to admit.

But he runs off instead of sticking around to see what happens. He wants to know how much Sora likes Kairi…and yet, the very thought of what Sora _could_ reveal makes his insides twist with fear. He can't face that revelation; not yet.

And for a while, it looks like he won't. Because that door to darkness—the one he imagined way back in preschool—is back. And this time, he can't fight the temptation to open it.

After that, life gets…confusing.

Sora says they're still friends, but his actions don't quite follow his words. He's always looking for Kairi more so than Riku, and his new friends—Donald and Goofy—seem to have become his friends just as easily as Riku had, all those years ago. And how…how can Sora already be as close to them as he is to Riku, who has known him for so much longer?

It isn't fair, and it isn't right, and Riku finds himself falling farther and father into the grasping darkness.

Then, one day, he blacks out. When he comes to, he isn't himself. Or maybe himself isn't him? It's all so confusing…like he's in his body, but not controlling it. He's sitting in one corner of his mind, watching himself do things that he would never, ever do to Sora, no matter how hurt or angry he feels.

But when he…when _his body_ goes too far, he wrenches himself out of the corner—and oh, oh, it hurts so much!—and protects Sora, somehow.

After that, things go black again. And then Sora wins, and Riku is himself again. But he can't face Sora now. The darkness is still clinging to him, making him dirty, and he can't go near Sora like that—can't let Sora _see_ him like that.

The need to hide from Sora is so strong that, while he is trying to help his dearest friend (getting out of the darkness and capturing his Nobody and helping Naminé and DiZ restore Sora's memories) he even takes on Xehanort's image. He isn't quite sure why it is Xehanort's image that he takes—he supposes it has something to do with the fact that Xehanort, in his mind, represents all things dark and dirty. Or…something.

He tries not to think about it too much. Or look in reflective surfaces.

It feels like a million years pass before he actually comes face to face with Sora again. And when Kairi forces him to confront Sora, Sora…cries. It makes Riku want to cry, too, and he wishes he could change back; but for some reason he can't…

Then Ansem's machine explodes, and he _is_ back in his normal body, and for once he gets to fight side by side with Sora, and, oh, it feels so good.

That's all he can think about, after that: being back with Sora again. How could he have known how much he missed Sora? Whenever they are apart, Riku just goes back to how he was before they met—and that boy (that pathetic, lonely boy) is so used to being alone that he doesn't even recognize loneliness anymore.

But now they are stranded together, in a world that consists only of night and an ocean. Riku wishes selfishly that they could stay here, just the two of them. But the reality of it is that he can't keep Sora all to himself. Sora can't belong to Riku alone, no matter how much Riku wants him to; so when the portal appears, he doesn't even try to suggest that they stay.

Besides: when Sora helps him to walk, Riku has the chance to be held by him, and can pretend that he is being held for entirely different reasons than the wounds that litter his body.

(IWANTTOLINETHEPAGEBREAKSUP…YOURSANDMINE…)

It has been almost six months since their adventure came to a close. It still feels surreal to Riku; after everything that has happened, the 'real world' on Destiny Islands can only seem…fake, somehow. But Sora and Kairi seem happy enough, so Riku keeps his opinions to himself.

Or, at least, he tries. But he finds himself doing little things every once and a while that he thinks might give him away.

"Sora?"

"Yeah, Riku?"

"…Nothing. I just wanted to be sure of you."

When things like that happen, Sora just gives him this look…Riku isn't sure what it means (and he isn't used to not knowing what Sora's looks mean; they've known each other for forever, it seems, and Sora has always worn his heart on his sleeve), and so he isn't sure if he likes it or not.

"Hey, Riku?" Sora says one day, while he's giving Riku that strange not-Sora look.

"Hm?" Riku asks, looking out at the ocean so that he doesn't have to look at Sora's expression.

"You ever get the feeling that…we're forgetting everything, here?" Sora asks.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well…sometimes…things just seem so slow and peaceful here…I catch myself forgetting what it's like to fight…to be afraid…" Sora trails off, thoughtful. "I forget what it's like to be away from you." Then, as an afterthought, he adds, "and Kairi."

"It's okay, Sora." Riku decides. "Because you won't forget us…or any of the friends you made while you were out in the universe…you won't forget what matters."

Sora doesn't say anything for a long while, and when he speaks again Riku can hardly hear him. "You promise you'll never forget me?"

"Of course I—"

The glint in Sora's eyes when he looks up at Riku makes Riku stop. It's heartbreaking.

"Because if I thought you would forget…I'd never leave." Sora says.

Riku is quiet for a moment, surprised and elated and uncertain, his heart doing funny twists and jumps and somersaults in his chest.

"I'll forget." He whispers finally, grasping onto Sora's hand.

Sora stares. Then he smiles, squeezes Riku's hand, and leans his head onto Riku's shoulder. "Then I won't go." He says decidedly.

"Were you going to?" Riku asks, his voice hardly escaping around the lump that has appeared in his throat.

"…" Sora lets out a soft sound, like a whimper. "I'm afraid of forgetting, Riku. Like Roxas forgot Axel. I don't want to forget."

"I won't let you." Riku replies. Something wet is seeping into his shirt where Sora's head is, and it frightens him more than he's ever been frightened before. "And neither will Kairi, or—"

"No." Sora said. "No, Riku, I…I'm afraid of forgetting this." And Sora brings Riku's hand up, presses it against his chest.

The heartbeat there, Riku thinks, is awfully fast.

"Then…then I won't go, either." Riku says. He isn't sure that Sora hears him—he can hardly hear himself—but the smile on Sora's face makes him think that he must have.

"What if I go?" Sora asks as his eyes lose that scary look and return to their normal mischievous blue color.

"You said you wouldn't." Riku says, laughing.

"What if I have to?" Sora asks. "What if the King summons me?"

"Then I'll go with you." Riku says simply; it's the easiest answer he's ever given. "I won't go away from you. Not ever again."

"Good." Sora says. "I don't like it when you're gone."

"Me neither."

Sora turns and throws his arms around Riku. All of his earlier seriousness has left him, now, like it was never there. "Yay! Riku's staying!"

"Sora, too!" Riku says, wrapping his arms around Sora. "Forever and ever."

And then—Sora's eyes still full of the impishness that makes Sora who he is—they are kissing, and Riku is absolutely certain that he can feel Sora give his heart to him. And he gives his heart back, thinking all the while:

Forever and ever is a beautifully long time.

The End.


End file.
